All Blacks 2021
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my biggest problem was never with the SA teams themselves, it was always just with the travel/time and the apparently loss of interest for a lot of people, a huge (anecdotal) drop in those that would get up to watch the game live and in the last decade even more because social media made it much harder to avoid a score and watch a replay, as soon as a chunk of your games are only watched by hard out die hard fans youre in trouble, in my mind
dont know what the solution was but a competition needed people watching it to be successful
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my biggest problem was never with the SA teams themselves, it was always just with the travel/time and the apparently loss of interest for a lot of people, a huge (anecdotal) drop in those that would get up to watch the game live and in the last decade even more because social media made it much harder to avoid a score and watch a replay, as soon as a chunk of your games are only watched by hard out die hard fans youre in trouble, in my mind
dont know what the solution was but a competition needed people watching it to be successful
@kiwiwomble said in All Blacks 2021:
my biggest problem was never with the SA teams themselves, it was always just with the travel/time and the apparently loss of interest for a lot of people, a huge (anecdotal) drop in those that would get up to watch the game live and in the last decade even more because social media made it much harder to avoid a score and watch a replay, as soon as a chunk of your games are only watched by hard out die hard fans youre in trouble, in my mind
dont know what the solution was but a competition needed people watching it to be successful
i got old. i used to watch them at the pub!! Absolutely steamed, trying to focus on the TV. You know, the trusty one-eye squint.
Then i would be home well before kickoff.
Then i stopped caring.
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i'll add to my point, i think part of the loss in interest came from playing the springboks so much
a lot of whats special about watching some of their great players play is lost when you know you'll get to see them twice (or three times) for the Bokke...scarcity does help grow importance, if its your only shot to beat a team this season then you cant help but put some importance on it
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TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well. -
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well. -
i'll add to my point, i think part of the loss in interest came from playing the springboks so much
a lot of whats special about watching some of their great players play is lost when you know you'll get to see them twice (or three times) for the Bokke...scarcity does help grow importance, if its your only shot to beat a team this season then you cant help but put some importance on it
@kiwiwomble said in All Blacks 2021:
i'll add to my point, i think part of the loss in interest came from playing the springboks so much
a lot of whats special about watching some of their great players play is lost when you know you'll get to see them twice (or three times) for the Bokke...scarcity does help grow importance, if its your only shot to beat a team this season then you cant help but put some importance on it
that's everything about SANZAR though. the whole "more is better" attitude that bloated everything, simply to create content.
Super rugby kept getting bigger so there were more games (there were other reasons, but i am sure this was the main one)
the Tri-Nations got bigger, suddenly 3 games. Then another Bledisloe. more! more! more!Meanwhile the 6N stuck to their guns, and look at it. We used to look down at that, now i fucking love it. Play each other meaningfully once a year. You lose that? 12 months for revenge. Not a week.
I have sympathy though. How the fuck you create and administer a sporting competition that spans then entire southern hemisphere, and keep all parties happy, and make it fair? seems a nightmare. And i reckon it's a losing battle because no one can agree with the best way forward is. Europe has the money and the geography.
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TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
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@kiwiwomble said in All Blacks 2021:
i'll add to my point, i think part of the loss in interest came from playing the springboks so much
a lot of whats special about watching some of their great players play is lost when you know you'll get to see them twice (or three times) for the Bokke...scarcity does help grow importance, if its your only shot to beat a team this season then you cant help but put some importance on it
that's everything about SANZAR though. the whole "more is better" attitude that bloated everything, simply to create content.
Super rugby kept getting bigger so there were more games (there were other reasons, but i am sure this was the main one)
the Tri-Nations got bigger, suddenly 3 games. Then another Bledisloe. more! more! more!Meanwhile the 6N stuck to their guns, and look at it. We used to look down at that, now i fucking love it. Play each other meaningfully once a year. You lose that? 12 months for revenge. Not a week.
I have sympathy though. How the fuck you create and administer a sporting competition that spans then entire southern hemisphere, and keep all parties happy, and make it fair? seems a nightmare. And i reckon it's a losing battle because no one can agree with the best way forward is. Europe has the money and the geography.
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwiwomble said in All Blacks 2021:
i'll add to my point, i think part of the loss in interest came from playing the springboks so much
a lot of whats special about watching some of their great players play is lost when you know you'll get to see them twice (or three times) for the Bokke...scarcity does help grow importance, if its your only shot to beat a team this season then you cant help but put some importance on it
that's everything about SANZAR though. the whole "more is better" attitude that bloated everything, simply to create content.
Super rugby kept getting bigger so there were more games (there were other reasons, but i am sure this was the main one)
the Tri-Nations got bigger, suddenly 3 games. Then another Bledisloe. more! more! more!Meanwhile the 6N stuck to their guns, and look at it. We used to look down at that, now i fucking love it. Play each other meaningfully once a year. You lose that? 12 months for revenge. Not a week.
I have sympathy though. How the fuck you create and administer a sporting competition that spans then entire southern hemisphere, and keep all parties happy, and make it fair? seems a nightmare. And i reckon it's a losing battle because no one can agree with the best way forward is. Europe has the money and the geography.
100%, i think we need to realise we cant have it all, we can either have smaller meaningful and competitive competitions...basically super 12 and OG tri nations....or we have larger less competitive competitions and rely on scarcity for the meanfulness (see a RC with japan and or PI and maybe only playing them once)
but i dont think we have have big + meaningful + competitive, not just by playing the same teams more anyway
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2021:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwi_expat said in All Blacks 2021:
They hardly brought a lot of value to Super Rugby (except diversity) besides cheating officials and corrupt administrators.
I don't agree. They brought huge physicality to the game, and a different style of play for people and teams to adapt to. They forced us to learn how to travel long distances and play well. They made us develop different game plans to win at altitude.
That appears to be something we learnt easily. We dominated them in SR.
Not all the teams, all the time. Point being that it educated a large amount of players what was necessary to improve their game.
Chiefs being thrashed in a final comes to mind. Blues had issues with the Sharks many times.
@kirwan said in All Blacks 2021:
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2021:
@nzzp said in All Blacks 2021:
@kiwi_expat said in All Blacks 2021:
They hardly brought a lot of value to Super Rugby (except diversity) besides cheating officials and corrupt administrators.
I don't agree. They brought huge physicality to the game, and a different style of play for people and teams to adapt to. They forced us to learn how to travel long distances and play well. They made us develop different game plans to win at altitude.
That appears to be something we learnt easily. We dominated them in SR.
Not all the teams, all the time. Point being that it educated a large amount of players what was necessary to improve their game.
Chiefs being thrashed in a final comes to mind. Blues had issues with the Sharks many times.
I agree, not all teams all the time. That's a function of depth and a clear argument against the expansion of what was once a premium product.
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@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
We could just import them while their country becomes a failed state.
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@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
Not wanting to get in a shitfight with the new holiday happy Mariner, but is the gap in tall timber at the top level actually even that big or noticeable these days (aside from pure depth)? Only Lood seems to be an outlier in complete size.
The Boks still carry 1.98m locks and we seem to be pretty well stocked with them and guys sitting on or over the 2m mark - just some coaches like to play smaller guys.
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
We could just import them while their country becomes a failed state.
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
We could just import them while their country becomes a failed state.
ah yes, teh Black Caps method
Can we do better than Rawlinson though?
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
Not wanting to get in a shitfight with the new holiday happy Mariner, but is the gap in tall timber at the top level actually even that big or noticeable these days (aside from pure depth)? Only Lood seems to be an outlier in complete size.
The Boks still carry 1.98m locks and we seem to be pretty well stocked with them and guys sitting on or over the 2m mark - just some coaches like to play smaller guys.
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
Not wanting to get in a shitfight with the new holiday happy Mariner, but is the gap in tall timber at the top level actually even that big or noticeable these days (aside from pure depth)? Only Lood seems to be an outlier in complete size.
The Boks still carry 1.98m locks and we seem to be pretty well stocked with them and guys sitting on or over the 2m mark - just some coaches like to play smaller guys.
our locks may be big-ish, but they aren't very good, and they aren't very hard. We've got the 2 all-timers, both waning, and then zilch.
Those young kids are big enough, but are they hard enough? good enough? Time will tell i suppose. -
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
We could just import them while their country becomes a failed state.
@antipodean said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
We could just import them while their country becomes a failed state.
The initial chicken runners offered us barely anything (settle down Canes fans, Goosen aint that good) so I doubt we're ever going to get any quality from them.
I've been extremely disappointed with the quality of Saffas we let come here, NH should be a powerhouse with a huge pack.
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@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
Not wanting to get in a shitfight with the new holiday happy Mariner, but is the gap in tall timber at the top level actually even that big or noticeable these days (aside from pure depth)? Only Lood seems to be an outlier in complete size.
The Boks still carry 1.98m locks and we seem to be pretty well stocked with them and guys sitting on or over the 2m mark - just some coaches like to play smaller guys.
our locks may be big-ish, but they aren't very good, and they aren't very hard. We've got the 2 all-timers, both waning, and then zilch.
Those young kids are big enough, but are they hard enough? good enough? Time will tell i suppose. -
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
Not wanting to get in a shitfight with the new holiday happy Mariner, but is the gap in tall timber at the top level actually even that big or noticeable these days (aside from pure depth)? Only Lood seems to be an outlier in complete size.
The Boks still carry 1.98m locks and we seem to be pretty well stocked with them and guys sitting on or over the 2m mark - just some coaches like to play smaller guys.
our locks may be big-ish, but they aren't very good, and they aren't very hard. We've got the 2 all-timers, both waning, and then zilch.
Those young kids are big enough, but are they hard enough? good enough? Time will tell i suppose.@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
Not wanting to get in a shitfight with the new holiday happy Mariner, but is the gap in tall timber at the top level actually even that big or noticeable these days (aside from pure depth)? Only Lood seems to be an outlier in complete size.
The Boks still carry 1.98m locks and we seem to be pretty well stocked with them and guys sitting on or over the 2m mark - just some coaches like to play smaller guys.
our locks may be big-ish, but they aren't very good, and they aren't very hard. We've got the 2 all-timers, both waning, and then zilch.
Those young kids are big enough, but are they hard enough? good enough? Time will tell i suppose.I think the young ones are good enough (maybe hope), they'll just need their opportunities in the next few years, when those two all timers hang up their boots.
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@mariner4life Increasingly I suspect that we will have to compromise and select a shorter power lock, if we want to maintain some 2nd row grunt.
@tim said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life Increasingly I suspect that we will have to compromise and select a shorter power lock, if we want to maintain some 2nd row grunt.
i'm totally cool with that if we have the right plan for the players we have. Rugby does not have to be cut-and-paste.
It's the balance and plan i would be dubious of (and the fact all our lineout throwers seem to suck, seriously, why are lineouts such an issue in NZ?)
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@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
Not wanting to get in a shitfight with the new holiday happy Mariner, but is the gap in tall timber at the top level actually even that big or noticeable these days (aside from pure depth)? Only Lood seems to be an outlier in complete size.
The Boks still carry 1.98m locks and we seem to be pretty well stocked with them and guys sitting on or over the 2m mark - just some coaches like to play smaller guys.
our locks may be big-ish, but they aren't very good, and they aren't very hard. We've got the 2 all-timers, both waning, and then zilch.
Those young kids are big enough, but are they hard enough? good enough? Time will tell i suppose.I think the young ones are good enough (maybe hope), they'll just need their opportunities in the next few years, when those two all timers hang up their boots.
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
Not wanting to get in a shitfight with the new holiday happy Mariner, but is the gap in tall timber at the top level actually even that big or noticeable these days (aside from pure depth)? Only Lood seems to be an outlier in complete size.
The Boks still carry 1.98m locks and we seem to be pretty well stocked with them and guys sitting on or over the 2m mark - just some coaches like to play smaller guys.
our locks may be big-ish, but they aren't very good, and they aren't very hard. We've got the 2 all-timers, both waning, and then zilch.
Those young kids are big enough, but are they hard enough? good enough? Time will tell i suppose.I think the young ones are good enough (maybe hope), they'll just need their opportunities in the next few years, when those two all timers hang up their boots.
we can always fall back on trusty old not big enough nor good enough Scott Barrett for another world cup cycle i guess...
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@tim said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life Increasingly I suspect that we will have to compromise and select a shorter power lock, if we want to maintain some 2nd row grunt.
i'm totally cool with that if we have the right plan for the players we have. Rugby does not have to be cut-and-paste.
It's the balance and plan i would be dubious of (and the fact all our lineout throwers seem to suck, seriously, why are lineouts such an issue in NZ?)
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@tim said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life Increasingly I suspect that we will have to compromise and select a shorter power lock, if we want to maintain some 2nd row grunt.
i'm totally cool with that if we have the right plan for the players we have. Rugby does not have to be cut-and-paste.
It's the balance and plan i would be dubious of (and the fact all our lineout throwers seem to suck, seriously, why are lineouts such an issue in NZ?)
@mariner4life this ^^
change the game plan (come up with one to start with), dont have dominant jumpers?....dont kick for touch as much and become experts at sacking their lineout
i know thats an oversimplification but you know what i mean
The idea of coming up with a game plan to fit the players you have seem completely foreign to the current administration
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@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
Not wanting to get in a shitfight with the new holiday happy Mariner, but is the gap in tall timber at the top level actually even that big or noticeable these days (aside from pure depth)? Only Lood seems to be an outlier in complete size.
The Boks still carry 1.98m locks and we seem to be pretty well stocked with them and guys sitting on or over the 2m mark - just some coaches like to play smaller guys.
our locks may be big-ish, but they aren't very good, and they aren't very hard. We've got the 2 all-timers, both waning, and then zilch.
Those young kids are big enough, but are they hard enough? good enough? Time will tell i suppose.I think the young ones are good enough (maybe hope), they'll just need their opportunities in the next few years, when those two all timers hang up their boots.
we can always fall back on trusty old not big enough nor good enough Scott Barrett for another world cup cycle i guess...
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
@mariner4life said in All Blacks 2021:
@nepia said in All Blacks 2021:
TBH, as I got older I probably started watching Saffa games again as I'd get up and watch them in the morning while I ate breakfast, while skipping through all the faffing between the actual play.
Anyway, to solve the issue, let's just designate one of our teams to play like a Saffa team.
I'd nominate the Canes but they have shit 10s and midget locks so might not work too well.we don't have that factory that they have somewhere outside of Bloemfontein that produces unit after unit of 2m+ jacked 2nd rowers with crew-cuts
Not wanting to get in a shitfight with the new holiday happy Mariner, but is the gap in tall timber at the top level actually even that big or noticeable these days (aside from pure depth)? Only Lood seems to be an outlier in complete size.
The Boks still carry 1.98m locks and we seem to be pretty well stocked with them and guys sitting on or over the 2m mark - just some coaches like to play smaller guys.
our locks may be big-ish, but they aren't very good, and they aren't very hard. We've got the 2 all-timers, both waning, and then zilch.
Those young kids are big enough, but are they hard enough? good enough? Time will tell i suppose.I think the young ones are good enough (maybe hope), they'll just need their opportunities in the next few years, when those two all timers hang up their boots.
we can always fall back on trusty old not big enough nor good enough Scott Barrett for another world cup cycle i guess...
He'll be on the blindside for the big games.
